Better
by 11Unknown11
Summary: They all could've done better. Disclaimers: I don't own PJO or HoO.


**Sorry, I haven't really done anything this week, I totally blame homework.**

**But here's another sorta one-shot!**

**(Sorry if the line breaks are a little weird, I typed this on pages.)**

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Leo was a person who had far too many dreams. Everything was lost, so all he did was dream.

He would dream about happy endings, or about a happy life where nothing ever went wrong. A life that would be perfect.

But of course, life wasn't perfect. And nothing was. _Nothing is._

Leo used to think that things could be perfect, but of course, that was years ago. Back when his mom was still there.

He remembered clearly what had happened. He knew what had happened.

And even though the gods knew that had happened, the only person who really understood it was himself.

Leo remembered the flames licking at his body, flames that should have hurt him. He wished they had. Why couldn't it be someone else, heck, why couldn't he just not be a demigod? It must've been a mistake that he happened to be the one with the horrible powers. That him, the third wheel, the left out, happened to be so important that he didn't even like it.

He remembered the fear that clenched his heart and made his head feel light. The worry, the worry that both him and his mother wouldn't be able to get out.

Leo Valdez came out alive.

Esperanza didn't.

It should have been the other was around.

But of course, it wasn't.

And it never would be.

Happiness and perfection costed a lot. But dreaming was free.

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Thalia hated it.

She never liked her mother. Thalia never did, and she thought she never would. Her mother was just so full of herself, always drinking, not really caring much about her children.

When she had given Jason to Gaea, Thalia had been furious. Anger, Rage, Hate all sped through her mind at once. But there was one emotion, one that she hadn't been able to identify.

One that made her so sad, made her want to just cry about it. But Thalia Grace was a strong girl. And being a strong girl, she had tried to find out exactly what the emotion was. She never got there.

The night before Thalia had run away, she remembered having another shouting match with her mother.

Tears had run down her cheeks like a waterfall. Anger, took over. All she wanted to do was to get away from that monster. Screaming and thrashing, Thalia had cried out the words she regretted most in her life.

_"I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"_

Now, years later, she knew what she had really done. The feeling in her chest, was disappointment.

But she was more disappointed at herself.

Even, if behind every 'I hate you' is an 'I love you.'

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Luke couldn't have been any more stupid than he had been.

He knew he could've lived life to it's fullest. He could've cared more. But he was blinded. Blinded by the want and need of power, blinded by the despise he had for his father.

Luke had no reason to hate Chiron, or any of the other gods. He had assumed that they were just as bad. But he had thought that Hermes was the worst.

He never should have poisoned Thalia's tree. Thalia, who was his friend, who had helped him get through so much. And he repaid by poisoning her, hurting her friends and family.

That wasn't even the worst. Luke had hurt Annabeth, hurt her in a way he never should've. He'd betrayed the gods, poisoned Thalia's tree, lead an army to defeat the gods.

And only then, when it was too late, had he realized that he had done the wrong thing. But Kronos had almost full control.

After all he had done, Annabeth still stood for him. Still believed in him, because he was her brother. By anything but blood.

He should have taken his time to be a better person, to do the right thing. He should have been happy with what he already had.

Because being alive didn't mean you were actually living.

Luke should've known that long before.

Live, Love, Laugh.

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Frank had never really gotten over his mother's death. She was everything to him, and when she had died, Frank thought nothing could ever be as good again.

He was always a little bit more on the downside, not exactly thinking the best of himself and others. Frank probably had one of the lowest self-esteem in all of the Fifth Cohort.

Hazel never did either. And Frank liked Hazel, because she didn't judge. She was a generous person, always giving to others and trying her best not to curse at Octavian.

Which was another thing Frank liked about her. She hated Octavian.

But seriously, Frank had once thought he had nothing left to lose, nothing but his life. But he realized how much he wanted it, and the fear that trapped his body when he was on the verge of death, made him feel even worse about himself.

Why couldn't he be brave like everyone else? But whenever he thought of his powers, thought of his stick, he thought of his mother.

Frank had wondered how Leo had gotten over his mother's death. Maybe Leo didn't really get over it either. But he was way better at hiding it than Frank.

He missed his mother, he missed her a lot. But Frank tried to stay strong, stay upbeat, but it never seemed as easy as Leo made it look like. Because whenever Frank tried, everyone seemed to see through it.

But one night, he was sitting on the deck of Argo II. Deep in thought, when Hazel came up to him.

They talked.

But what really stuck to him, what really changed his mind, was when Frank had asked her what he wanted to ask Leo.

"How can you just get over your mother's death? I just can't seem to be able to."

Hazel had looked him strait in the eye.

"Move on...life isn't meant to be travelled backwards."

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Annabeth wanted to cry. She wanted to just stop using the image that she had put on, because so many people depended on her. She just wanted to be herself again.

But most of all, Annabeth wanted Percy right there next to her.

He had been missing, missing for so long. Her heart ached of worry, and the dark bags underneath her eyes spoke more words than they should have.

Annabeth hated the looks of pity that came her way every time she walked outside. Their gaze as they looked at her exhausted body, her sad gray eyes that showed everything.

Chiron had been worried. Annabeth knew that. But Chiron knew her far too well, and her wouldn't look at her with pity. Instead, he looked at her with worry.

He would tell her to go to bed and get a good nights rest, and remind her to eat and drink. Chiron would make sure Annabeth stayed healthy.

Annabeth acted like she didn't want it. But what she needed the most at the moment was a person she could rely on. Somebody who could help her get through hardships.

When Thalia came to visit, Annabeth couldn't have been any more glad than she had been. But the gaping hole in her heart, made her look every once in a while, look around to see if maybe he had come back.

Every morning, Annabeth would go to the entrance of Camp Half-Blood. Then she would go to the beach, to the big house, and finally to Cabin Three. Annabeth found herself constantly looking for him, waiting for him to come back.

And she hated it.

When Thalia had asked her, how she was doing for the forty-fifth time, Annabeth had finally said something other than 'fine'.

"I feel like I'm waiting for something that isn't going to happen."

Thalia understood.

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Silena never liked lying to him. But Luke had told her that he wouldn't be harmed.

Luke had lied.

Charlie's death was in his hands, and Silena had tried to get back at him. She should never had been so stupid.

When she had saw Charlie in Elysium, he almost spluttered out how it was all his fault, how he could have done better.

When Silena told him the truth, what hurt the most wasn't telling him, it was the fact that he forgave her.

"It wasn't you; it was me."

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_**End**_

**How was it? Please R&R!**


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